A diverse group of residents and civic and business representatives appeared yesterday at the Green Tree borough building with the same message for members of a state House subcommittee -- find a permanent way to fund mass transit.

Sprinkled among the comments from transit riders, public transit advocates and business representatives were also requests to clean up the operations of the Port Authority of Allegheny County and to delay or minimize proposed service cuts.

Afterward, state Rep. Michael McGeehan, chairman of the subcommittee on Economic Development and Infrastructure of the House Appropriations Committee, said the state has to come up with a dedicated source of funding for mass transit to survive.

"In order to have a viable community, you have to have mass transit," said Mr. McGeehan, D-Philadelphia.

Yesterday's hearing, which lasted 45 minutes longer than planned because of the number of public comments, was the first the Appropriations Committee has had outside of Harrisburg. The idea for the traveling panel came from the committee's chairman, Philadelphia Democrat Dwight Evans, Mr. McGeehan said.

One of the underlying themes from those who appeared before the panel was the quickness with which the Port Authority has proposed to address its expected $80 million deficit in the next budget year through layoffs and service cuts.

"You can't craft public policy in three months for a problem that has plagued this agency for 20 years," said Gabe Morgan, Pittsburgh director of the Service Employees International Union Local 3 and co-chairman of the Campaign to Stop the Bus Cuts.

The Port Authority earlier this year proposed a 25 percent cut in service hours, but last week revised the proposal to 15 percent and the elimination of 29 routes.

Mr. Morgan was the first to speak to the panel, which included six legislators. In addition to Mr. McGeehan, in attendance were Reps. Steven Capelli, R-Williamsport, the panel's minority chairman; Paul Costa, D-Wilkins; Sean Ramaley, D-Conway; Randy Vulakovich, R-Shaler; and Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon.

Representatives from Eat'n Park Hospitality Group, PNC Financial Services Group and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center told the legislators about the importance of public transit to their employees, particularly in Oakland and Downtown.

More than half of PNC's 6,500 Downtown workers use public transportation, said Thomas F. Lamb Jr., PNC's senior vice president of governmental affairs. PNC's decision to locate its operations center Downtown was influenced by the availability of public transportation.

The benefits of Port Authority employees, particularly health care costs, also were a subject of the comments. Recent preliminary audits from Auditor General Jack Wagner's office revealed the transit agency's nonunion employees benefited from cushy pensions and bonuses, as well as noncontributory health care coverage.

But public transit advocates and riders told the legislators the solution to the agency's financial problems should not be borne by its customers.

"Don't solve this on the backs of the riders," said Paul Lodico of the Mon Valley Unemployed Committee and the Campaign to Stop the Bus Cuts.